Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Blackwell, Alice Stone

(Encyclopedia)Blackwell, Alice Stone, 1857–1950, American feminist, b. East Orange, N.J., grad. Boston Univ., 1881; daughter of Henry Brown Blackwell and Lucy Stone. She was an editor (1881–1917) of the Woman's...

Taylor, James Vernon

(Encyclopedia) Taylor, James Vernon, 1948-, American singer-songwriter, b. Boston, Ma. Taylor was born in Boston but raised in Chapel Hill, N.C. As a teenager, he be...

Constitution, ship

(Encyclopedia)Constitution, U.S. 44-gun frigate, nicknamed Old Ironsides. It is perhaps the most famous vessel in the history of the U.S. navy. Authorized by Congress in 1794, the ship was launched in 1797 and was ...

Cotton, John

(Encyclopedia)Cotton, John, 1584–1652, Puritan clergyman in England and Massachusetts, b. Derbyshire, educated at Cambridge. Imbued with Puritan doctrines, he won many followers during his 20 years as vicar of th...

White, Stanford

(Encyclopedia)White, Stanford, 1853–1906, American architect, b. New York City; son of Richard Grant White. In 1872 he entered the office of Gambrill and Richardson in Boston, at the time when H. H. Richardson wa...

Mladić, Ratko

(Encyclopedia)Mladić, Ratko rätˈkō mlädˈĭch [key], 1942–, Bosnian Serb military leader. Raised in Tito's Yugoslavia, he joined the army, rising through the officer corps to become a lieutenant general. In ...

Monroe

(Encyclopedia)Monroe. 1 Industrial city (1990 pop. 54,909), seat of Ouachita parish, SE La., on the Ouachita River; founded c.1785, inc. as a city 1900. The center of the great Monroe Natural Gas Field (discovered ...

Manuel I, 1469–1521, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Manuel I, 1469–1521, king of Portugal (1495–1521), successor of John II. Manuel's reign was most notable for the successful continuation of Portugal's overseas enterprises. John had planned the ex...

ransom

(Encyclopedia)ransom, price of redemption demanded by the captor of a person, vessel, or city. In ancient times cities frequently paid ransom to prevent their plundering by captors. The custom of ransoming was form...

Ambon

(Encyclopedia)Ambon ämˈbōn [key], island, c.300 sq mi (775 sq km), E Indonesia, one of the Moluccas, in the Banda Sea. It is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Corn and sago are...

Browse by Subject